Struck By a Silver Stake
by DeathlyFlames
Summary: AU. Luffy is trapped in a world he didn't ask for, running from people who want him for what he can't control. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE
1. Escape

SUMMARY::: Luffy has spent his whole life shunned by the humans for being a vampire and shunned by the vampires for his secret abilities he didn't even know he had. He had been running for years from an elite vampire-hunting clan known to the world as the leading researchers in supernatural science, the Silver Stakes. They wanted Luffy because he was a freak among freaks, a danger and a curiosity. But because he was running, everything that happened was his fault. It was because of him that his parents were killed, because of him his half-vampire brother Ace was taken away by the Stakes, because of him the world wanted him dead. But everything changes when he meets Roronoa Zoro, who ends up being one of the best friends Luffy could ask for on his quest to save his brother. Too bad Zoro is the heir to the Silver Stakes company.

Author's Note: Hi! DeathlyFlames here! Well it was requested by Hutt so here you go! The first chapter of Struck by a Silver Stake. Reviews and comments loved!

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Struck By a Silver Stake Chapter 1: Escape

Luffy was running. It seemed that was all he ever did anymore. He was always running, always moving. He had to. If he didn't he would be captured. And he couldn't let that happen. Ever. He had to stay alive, he had to do whatever he could to rescue Ace. It was because of him that Ace was gone anyway. Luffy had been careless. And during that one moment, that one small hesitation, his only flesh and blood was stolen from right in front of his eyes. Taken away by them. The Silver Stakes.

Vampirism. A vicious blood disease caused by an infection from a parasitic organism that resembles the blood itself. It's so similar in fact that it can take over the blood completely, eating away at the hosts life force, causing a rabid need for a replacement blood source to keep the host alive. Human blood. The virus absorbs the fluid and consumes it, causing the host to need more to satiate the hunger of the parasite. About 37% percent of the world's population is infected. It's spread like AIDS. If you get any of the 'blood' in you, you will be consumed from the inside out.

The only benefit to this disease is the parasite's side effects. It differs between people, but the parasites unlock the part of the brain that restrains humans from the super strength and mind control that everyone has sealed away to keep the body from destroying itself. Not only that, but the parasite causes elongated canines to help the collection of blood as well as cat-like reflexes and sharper senses. Not a bad deal all in all, as long as you're willing to kill for your food.

But there are some, some like Luffy and Ace, who had a deformation in their parasite somehow. No one knows exactly why it happens, but a select few of the Vampires have extra abilities like control over certain elements or unnatural distortion of the body. A phenomena unexplained by science. A challenge taken up by the Silver Stakes.

The Silver Stakes are the leading researchers in Supernatural Science. It was started by an ancient clan of Vampire and Werewolf hunters who, during the age of science, decided that instead of killing their targets, they would donate their bodies to science. While they are still alive. The victims include every mythical creature one could think of including vampires, werewolves, witches, bigfoots, unicorns, you name it. These creatures are subjected to painful torture and tests for their entire lives. Just sacrifices made for the good of science they say. They just want to find a way to rid the world of dangers. They found that answer when they found Luffy.

Something about the parasite in Luffy was different. No one had explained exactly what was wrong, but the parasite gave him some kind of hidden power. One that was dangerous. And the Silver Stakes wanted it.

Luffy's chest was heaving and his legs felt like lead. He gasped as he pushed his legs harder and faster, needing to escape from his pursuers. He could hear the chains and the footsteps behind him getting closer every second. Luffy felt like he was going to explode if he didn't stop soon and he looked around for options. He was running along the stretch of back streets behind Logue Town and it seemed he only had two options; left or right. To his right was the beach, and the ocean that lay beyond it. That was no good. The special power parasites didn't like water and it left him unable to be near it and besides that he couldn't be in bright sunlight. He ducked to his left when an opening in the wall finally appeared and he flew around a corner, hoping they wouldn't follow. He couldn't hear the men yet, so Luffy looked at the SeaStone handcuff hanging off his right wrist. One of the men had slapped it on him when they ambushed him, and it kept him from using his powers.

Luffy tried his best to shake it off. He couldn't keep it on much longer. The cuffs made him want to lay down and sleep, but he couldn't. There was no way he could be caught. Luffy hit the cuff against the brick wall beside him as hard as he could, which wasn't very hard in his condition. It barely scratched the surface. Luffy huffed and tried again. His breath stopped when he heard the barking of dogs behind him and the clanking of chains on their collars. They belonged to the Stakes. Specially trained like drug dogs to sniff out his scent and specially trained to rip him to shreds. Luffy sped to the right, away from where the sound was coming from, and found himself running headfirst into a chain link fence.

Luffy grabbed onto the side and started scrambling up the side. He leapt onto the other side as the dogs fell against the wall. He booked it down the alley as the dogs pursued. Then he had an idea. He only hoped it would work before the men managed to leap over the fence. Luffy stopped in his tracks and turned to face the dogs.

Luffy barely saw the canines coming before they landed on him, snapping at his face. Luffy held up his right wrist as ones teeth gnashed down at him, and it worked. His teeth bit with crushing force on the handcuffs. The dog squealed and jumped back, before turning and snarling at Luffy. The other kept snapping at him and Luffy hit him as hard as he could in the teeth with the cuff. The dog squeaked but kept at his job and Luffy could hear the men coming. The dog was scratching and snapping at his left hand that he held to protect himself and Luffy, in a last ditch effort, slammed his right hand against the ground. Finally, the cuff opened and Luffy was free. Right as the men came up and leapt at his trapped body, Luffy flung his arm up as high as he could and grabbed a fire escape at the top of a building, flinging himself high into the air.

Luffy landed with a crash on the rooftop and stood up quickly, shooting himself from roof to roof until he reached the other end of town. He landed on the rooftop of a club with a flashing neon sign that read 'Hana'. He slipped through the stairway door at the top and ran down the flight of stairs to his hideout. He knocked three times before the door was opened slowly. He fell inside the doorway and crawled his way over to the couch so he could rest his head against it. Even though it was sunset outside, it was pitch black in the room. It made sense. He cracked his eyes open and looked at the group of people who had silently surrounded him. There was four of them and only two had the trademark glowing red eyes of the Infected.

"Luffy..." Luffy focused on one figure. His eyes were shining in the dark, but he was a normal Infected. He spoke quietly, hesitantly, and Luffy's heart dropped. He knew what was coming.

"It's not that we don't want you around or that we don't like you, cuz you know we do, with all the fun we have and stuff-" his rambling was cut off by the sharp tone of a human.

"Usopp. That's enough." Luffy watched the man's cigarette flare. An Infected on his left tried again.

"Luffy. We've discussed this and we believe it would be better for you if you left for Grand Line City. It's just too dangerous here."

"Robin..." Luffy whispered. But he knew it was true. They had hidden him for too long. It was time for Luffy to move on. He looked over to the girl on the right. She nodded her blue head and, even though it was shadowed, Luffy could see her put her hand up to her face to keep herself from crying. Luffy hung his head for a moment and reveled in the quiet. He took five deep breaths before looking back up.

"Ok. I'll leave in the morning." Luffy stood up from his spot on the ground and started towards his small bag of belongings so he could be ready to go.

"Wait, Luffy." the man with the cigarette stopped him.

"Sanji? What's wrong?" Sanji took a puff of his cigarette before answering.

"I'm coming with you. I've got a friend in Grand Line City. We can stay with her." Luffy grinned, his sadness wearing off.

"Thanks Sanji! Oh, hey! I'm hungry! You got any meat? Raw meat?" Sanji chuckled.

"Glad you're feeling better. Sure. You look pretty beat up. You sure you don't want to go hunt so you can heal up some?" Luffy shook his head.

"I'll be fine!" Sanji went into the kitchen and pulled out a slab of bloody steak for Luffy, who munched on it greedily before heading to his room. Once he was on his bed, Luffy stared at his left arm. It was covered with scratches and cuts and there was a large gash running across his hand. It would heal eventually if he just ate store-bought meat, but he would heal much faster if the parasite had fresh human blood to snack on. Th only problem with that is the mental rampage the parasite forces a vampire to go on to feed. It was painful to try and stop the rampages and it takes a lot of energy, but Luffy refused to kill humans daily, so he endured and struggled each time. He went out about once a month and fed from multiple humans and was sure not to drain them completely. But it didn't make him feel any better. He had no choice in being a Vampire. He had been born one. The first recorded one of his kind. His brother Ace was only a half-vampire. Both of them were truly remarkable. Something in Ace's blood had rejected the Infection partially and he still retained most of his humanity. Luffy was different, though. Something about him made it so he could even be born. The Infection keeps females from giving birth. The minute a baby starts to grow, the parasite will devour it for sustenance. For some reason, Luffy was born from a completely Infected mother. That was why the Stakes even knew he existed. It was hard to keep something like that a secret.

Luffy sighed as he closed his eyes and rested his hand. It didn't matter anymore anyway. His parents were dead. Luffy couldn't even remember what they looked like. Ace had raised him as long as he could remember. He had always told Luffy that the Stakes had killed his parents in an attempt to save Luffy from being taken away. Ace said that he had grabbed baby Luffy and ran as far away as he could. And Luffy had failed him. He could never forgive himself. Because of him... Luffy huffed again and rolled over to look at the window. There was a curtain over it and he could barely make out the silhouette of the moon through the dark cloth. Luffy closed his eyes again.

"Ace..."

**

"Luffy..."

Luffy groaned and turned away from the noise.

"Luffy."

Luffy covered his ears and started snoring again.

"LUFFY!"

Luffy yelped and jumped out of bed, glaring daggers at Sanji who had had the nerve to wake him up.

"Quiet, you idiot. Robin-chwan and Usopp are still asleep. Now come one, lets go." Sanji threw a long overcoat and hat at Luffy who groaned. He hated having to wear clothes like these, but they were for safety reasons.

Luffy's parasite kept him from being unable to be in sunlight at all, but he still couldn't go into an extremely hot place in the sun and expect to be fine. He also couldn't just parade himself around town when the Stakes were nearby. Luffy sighed as he held the jacket up and pushed his straw hat onto his back before putting the jacket on. Then he put the new hat on his empty head so he would be cloaked in darkness and a master of disguise. Luffy chuckled at the thought and started humming himself a theme song and posing in front of his mirror before Sanji had enough and dragged him away by his collar.

"Saaaaanjiii! Let me gooooooo!" Luffy whined.

Sanji glared at him. "Shut up, idiot! Don't wake up Robin-chwan!" Luffy huffed and crossed his arms, but followed anyway.

**

"Wow. COOL!" Luffy's eyes lit up as they arrive in Grand Line City after a day on the train and four hours in a car. It was so big! There were much taller buildings than in Logue Town, and many more of them. He was so busy staring, that he almost missed Sanji walking away. When he noticed, Luffy ran after him. They walked together for about three miles without speaking before they reached an apartment building. Sanji knocked on a door marked with the number 107. Suddenly, the door swung open and a girl appeared.

"Nami-swaaaaan! I'm so pleased to be in your presence once again my beautiful Nami-swan!"

"Sanji-kun! Welcome back!" she gave him a quick hug before turning to Luffy. She looked thoroughly confused until Sanji nodded.

"Ah! Luffy-kun! Welcome! Well, why don't you two come inside?" Sanji was ecstatic at the thought and wasted no time in entering, but Luffy took one more look at his new home.

"Luffy? You coming?" Luffy turned back to Sanji inside the door and grinned.

"Of course! Hey Sanji, got any meat? I'm staaaaaaaaarving!" the door closed behind Luffy.

On the street, observing from a hidden spot, a green-haired boy laughed to himself as he saw Luffy.

"Huh. Interesting."


	2. Beginnings

Struck By a Silver Stake Chapter 2: Beginnings

"But Saaaaaaaaanjiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! I don't wanna go to school!!!!!" Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Too bad, Luffy. You're a kid. And kids have to go to school. The only problem is school itself. We can't just send you to school during the day. You'd burn up. I mean, you managed that suspicious outfit today for a few hours but day after day? It would draw too much attention. I suppose we could send you to night school, but then I guess the Stakes could have also thought of that and....ugh.....It hurts to think about this too much. Tell you what, Luffy. We'll send you to night school and take our chances with the stakes. At least they're not as predictable as the sun."

Luffy's head hurt. At that point he didn't really care where he went as long as it wasn't complicated. Then it sunk in. He had to go to school.

"But !!!!!!!"

**

So there Luffy was, standing and hour after sunset at the door of his new school. He pressed his hand to his currently hatless head and sighed a little, wishing Sanji hadn't confiscated his hat. Although, his blonde friend had made it abundantly clear that hats weren't allowed in school and that he was going to leave it at home so he didn't get it taken away by people he didn't trust.

Luffy looked up solemnly at the the building that was to be his urban prison and hoped silently that this way the Stakes wouldn't find him as quickly.

**

Luffy found himself both bored and intrigued with school. He loved history, with it's fascinating stories and tales of ancient times and people, and chemistry, where you get to mix chemicals and blow things up. Well, you're not _supposed_ to blow up the science lab in a fiery explosion of death and destruction. At least, that's what the very nice principal lady told Luffy as he was made to walk to and from her office, ashamed as the entire class was watching his back.

What Luffy didn't like was math. It was so tedious and confusing.....It just made his brain hurt in the end. At one point, as the teacher droned on, he even fell asleep. And when he woke up, he saw another kid in his class was asleep too. He studied the kid....well, kinda. As well as you can study someone who isn't exactly facing you and has their head plastered to a desk.

He had short green grass-like hair and kind of broad shoulders but that was pretty much all Luffy could see until he sat up, yawned, and glared at the entire class like he was going to kill them. Luffy smiled. He was going to make grass-hair his new friend. He was just so cool!

Luffy excitedly bounced in his seat until the bell rang for the end of the night and then bolted out the classroom after the grass guy.

"Hey!"

Grass Guy looked over with a kind of whatthefuckdoyouwantpunk kind of expression. Luffy just grinned from ear to ear.

"Let's be friends."

Grass Guy seemed to contemplate for a moment before stating simply, "Thanks kid, but I prefer to be alone." Then he stalked off before Luffy could put in another word. But Luffy wouldn't give up. Never!

**

The next day and night the process was repeated, but this time in history the teacher assigned a project and told everyone to pair up. Luffy observed as everyone ran to the nearest friend and clung to them for dear life. Except for one person.

Luffy didn't even know Grass Guy was in this class, but apparently he was and he seemed to be avoided like the plague. It was like he was a ghost in the real world and everyone just floated around him, giving him a wide berth. But Luffy saw his chance. He jumped from his seat and ran to his soon-to-be friend before he could say anything and clung onto him.

"Does everyone have partners? Good." The teacher announced the end of partner searching and Grass Head glared at Luffy like he had just insulted him or something.

"Guess we're partners now, huh?" Luffy smiled up at him.

"Looks like it. You can let go of my arm now."

Luffy laughed a little and let go.

"Sorry."

**

"So we're friend's now right?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"PLEASE!?"

Sigh. "No."

"Pretty please with sugar-and-candy-and-love-and-blood-and-gumdrops on top?"

"What was that second to last thing?"

"Love."

"No the thing after it."

"Gumdrops."

"I hate sweets."

"So are we friends?"

Sigh. "Fine."

And that's when Luffy glomped his new friend in the middle of the road, causing a backup of traffic and no, it didn't make Grass Guy smile. It just made his head bleed.

**

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine."

Luffy had taken Grass Guy back to Nami's apartment to clean up his head. Grass Head had insisted on not being taken to the ER so that was what they were stuck with. And it was taking every ounce of strength to resist his human blood. But Luffy was trained to only feed once in a while. He could manage for a little bit as long as he could keep his fangs hidden. The Stakes did their best to keep the vampires a secret.

"What's your name, anyway?"

Grass Guy glared daggers at Luffy.

"You want to be my friend but you don't even know that? What have you been calling me?"

"Grass Guy. Or Grass Head."

Sigh. "It's Zoro. Don't call me Grass Guy. Ever. Or you will regret it."

And Luffy didn't doubt that. Zoro had told him about how he was trained in kendo. And that meant lots of pointy sharp swords. Which are good for winning arguments. And while Luffy was imagining Zoro and kendo, something really terrible happened.

"Hey Luffy. What's with the fangs?"


	3. Connections

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for waiting. I've been super busy so I hope to update more often now. I know it's a little short but I have big plans for the rest of the story. Enjoy! ~DeathlyFlames

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Struck By a Silver Stake Chapter 3 :

"F...f...f...fang...?" Luffy was taken aback, flabbergasted, horrified, and completely worried. Luffy said nothing while Zoro stared at him, a questioning look in his eyes. Silence filled the room like a cold blanket. Finally it was broken by Sanji walking in the door.

"Luffy! I'm back from dinner!" Luffy, without looking at Sanji, took this opportunity to escape and ran out of the front door and into the night. Zoro left without even looking at Sanji.

**8**8**

Luffy was running. He was running like he did when he feared the worst. He was glad it was dark still so he could run as far away from Zoro as possible. Zoro had seen his _fangs_. Luffy knew he was stupid enough to show them accidentally sometimes but most people didn't notice. Luffy was in the cemetery before he knew it and, amongst the silent graves, Luffy found himself at peace. He hated the idea of death but there was something about the peaceful quiet of a cemetery that calmed him. He sat down at the back of a grave and hugged his knees.

His first human friend knew. Of course he had had other human friends, but not ones that didn't secretly judge him. That feared him. He didn't like people fearing him... Luffy heard footsteps behind him and he tensed.

"Luffy. I know you're out here. C'mon. Lets talk about this."

Luffy buried his head in his knees. He wished he could turn back time so he wouldn't have shown Zoro his fangs. He wanted everything to be normal again.

But he knew that couldn't happen now.

"It was only because you had been bleeding earlier." Zoro smiled at Luffy's voice and followed it to the grave he was huddled behind.

"It's ok, Luffy. It's not like you plan on draining me of my blood anytime soon. Well, actually. I don't know that do I? I've only known you for today really. You going to kill me, Luffy?"

Enraged at the thought, Luffy stood up and jammed his finger in Zoro's chest.

"I would never hurt my friends on purpose!"

"You're putting a lot of faith in me trusting a guy I've known for one day and who just so happens to be a bloodsucking monster." That stung Luffy. He was taking everything that Zoro was saying seriously, even though Zoro was smiling.

Monster.

That's what Luffy had been told he was since birth, when he had started running.

Monster.

Luffy turned and started to walk away. Before Zoro could stop him, Luffy was suddenly pushed to the side. He fell into the grass, a large, wiggling thing was hanging off the arm he had used to defend himself. A sick purple liquid dripped from it's six inch long fangs, which were currently stuck in Luffy's arm. Blood joined the purple liquid and seeped into the grass.

Thinking quickly, Zoro grabbed the snake and ripped it from Luffy. Luffy didn't even cringe as inches of fang retreated from his flesh. He just hissed and grabbed the snake's body with his fangs. He ripped at it and twisted his mouth, until the snake was ripped in two. Luffy sat back and spat. Purple and red spattered the grass as Luffy half-smiled at Zoro.

"Boy, I really wish you had had your swords."

"Sorry, school rules." Zoro smiled as Luffy did and neither of them saw the two snakes, though slightly smaller, fling themselves at both boys.

Luffy busied himself by chewing on the neck of one and Zoro was swinging his against a headstone. He looked up on instinct and he could have sworn he was a figure, cloaked in darkness, walking away.

As the boys severed the snakes a second time, they watched in horror as the snakes grew new bodies and new heads. Luffy looked at the sky, worry painted on his face.

"It's going to be daylight soon." Zoro understood and kicked a few of the snakes away.

"C'mon! Let's get back! Maybe they'll go away." Luffy nodded and stomped on a snake as it lunged at him. Zoro started running as fast as he could for the inner city, Luffy close behind him.

They dodged the alleyways and corners, running in a maze of streets. They envied the people they didn't meet on the street, cozied up in their beds, not being chased. Finally, the sun was starting to rise and Luffy began to panic. They were slower now that both boys were bitten all over and they did all they could think to do under the circumstances. Zoro grabbed Luffy right as the sun was rising and dove into the safety of a well-shadowed alley. Luffy whimpered as he got a severe sunburn in seconds of sunlight. It felt like bees were repeatedly stinging his leg. They both looked up and saw the snakes hissing in the sun and slithering away.

Luffy was on the ground next to Zoro and they both looked like they had been run over by a truck covered in thorns. Luffy's breathing was shallow and, despite the past couple hours, Zoro felt much closer to Luffy after the snake fight. He offered him his wrist.

"Here. It'll help." Luffy looked up at him weakly and shook his head.

"I'll be fin..." Luffy closed his eyes.


	4. Friendship

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! It's me! I'm not dead! Woo! I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated. I promise I'll try to do it more often. I've had a lot going on in the past year. I'm a graduating senior, I got kicked out of my house, I moved a state away, I'm going back to graduate in June, and I'm going to college in the Fall. WOO COLLEGE! Luckily I have a roommate who is an English major so she promises to make me update my stories more often. I understand if any of you who were fans of this have given up, but I still hope you'll forgive me for taking so long. I love all of you guys and all the support I've gotten! Love to you all! ^^ So without further ado, here is the long awaited fourth chapter of Struck By a Silver Stake. Enjoy!**

**~DeathlyFlames**

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Struck By a Silver Stake Chapter 4: Friendship

That was it. Zoro was convinced they were going to die. In a scummy, filthy alleyway. Though he supposed death in an alleyway was better than being chewed on and eaten by a hydra. He knew that hydras were venemous. Disgusting creatures, hydras. Contemplating the arrival of the hydras left only one answer. And the arrival of a man in a cloak confirmed that.

"Hello, Zoro. Did you enjoy our present?" Zoro glared at the man as he took his hood off. Even though the short, balding man who stood before him worked for his family, Zoro still loathed him. He had no respect for living creatures and was glad to harvest them for live experiments without any regret.

"Hello James. Yes I suppose slow death by poisoning always perks up a morning." James laughed, a hollow, chilling laugh. Boy did Zoro want to slice him up with his swords.

"Right. Right. Well come along then, Zoro. I'll fix you and your friend up." Zoro picked up the still unconscious Luffy and followed James. James threw Zoro his cloak so he could wrap Luffy in it for safety.

"Why did you send us hydras?" James turned and smiled at Zoro.

"Preliminary experiments."

**8**8**

When Luffy woke up, it took him some time to understand what he was doing. He couldn't really remember what had happened, or where he was, what he was doing. He sat up and groggily looked around.

He was on a lab table.

Luffy's instincts kicked in and he ripped the needle from where it was in his elbow and booked it towards the nearest door. He stopped before opening it though, because on the other side he could hear Zoro talking to a strange sounding man.

"Are you sure he'll be alright?"

"Yes, yes. We don't have the same equipment that we have at the main lab, but a transplant of Infected blood should help eliminate any remaining poison. The same as this will do to you."

There was a silence and Luffy kept listening. Where was he and who was this man that Zoro was so friendly with?

"You need to bring him in, you know. The company will take him by force if you don't do your job."

"I know. Do you need to test him anymore or do you think he's fit to come in?"

"The company has decided that depending on how long you stay, more tests may be in order."

"Fine. Then can we leave now?"

"You are doing well. Your father will be so proud."

Luffy didn't hear the rest because he ran back to his table and laid on it like he had never woken up. The blood transfusion was hanging, waiting for his arm and Luffy obliged, sliding the needle into its previous spot. He laid his head down and slowly started counting backwards from one hundred in his head. When he got to 87 he heard a door open and footsteps. He felt the needle slip from his arm and arms lift him up. There was a cloth that was put on his shoulders before he was hoisted up and taken away. Luffy opened one eye slightly and saw Zoro.

"Where are we, Zoro?" Zoro looked down at him and gave him a weak smile.

"The doctor's office."

***8***88

Luffy was on his couch at home. Zoro had left to get some sleep at his own home, so Luffy had time to think about what he had seen. He felt his heart aching as he thought about Zoro's betrayal. He wasn't sure if Zoro was with the Stakes, but he couldn't take that chance. Still, he didn't want to stop being his friend. Zoro wasn't his only human friend, but he was certainly one Luffy thought he could talk to without burdening them. He was staying with Nami and Sanji. And Sanji had left with him, leaving his own friends and family, just to be with Luffy. And he had left Robin, Usopp, and Vivi. His presence was a danger.

Then it struck him. He was endangering everyone he knew. He was the one who got Ace captured, and he was the one everyone was hunting. He wasn't sure what this power he had was, but he knew it was dangerous.

He had one memory that came in flashes. It was the only time he knew his power had become apparent.

_Luffy was young. About 5 or 6. He couldn't remember exactly. He was with Ace. They were living on the street. People were walking by the alley where he was hiding. The sun was out. Luffy couldn't be in the sun. So bright…_

_Ace was gone. Why was he gone? Right. He went to go find food. Being half human Ace needed human food as well as blood. He was gone. It was so hot. Luffy was so hungry…_

_A child walked into the alley chasing a ball. He looked at Luffy. He screamed. It all went black._

_His eyes open. He sees blood everywhere. Bits of flesh and limbs are scattered all over. He tastes blood in his mouth. It's so delicious… There's no one on the street anymore. It's dark now. So many bodies…_

_Ace picked him up. He was crying. Luffy was crying. It all went black once more._

It was so hard for Luffy to remember everything. This memory just came in flashes of pictures and feelings. Like a movie with sections cut out. He got the feeling and the idea of what happened. But it was never very clear. Luffy stood up, his body felt as good as new. The lab must have done something to him. Right, they gave him blood.

Luffy grabbed his hat, his only true possession, and left. He wouldn't burden anyone anymore. Luffy walked outside into the fading sunset. The light was too dim to hurt him. He kept his eyes low and walked to school. He had to find Zoro.


End file.
